Key Facts
- Hangul: 오르다 (oreuda)
- Meaning: to climb; to rise
- Level: B1
- Part of speech: verb
- Stem: 오르
- Conjugation class: 르 irregular
- Grammar: For climbing, the place takes 에 or 을/를 (산에 / 산을 오르다); for rising things the subject takes 이/가 (물가가 오르다).
- Honorific polite: 오르세요
- Usage: Mid-level word, common in news (가격이 오르다) and in hiking talk. The 르 irregular pattern also shows up in 다르다 and 부르다.
What Does 오르다 Mean?
- to climb; to go up: Used for climbing a mountain or stairs, e.g. 산에 오르다 (to climb a mountain).
- to rise: Used when prices, temperature or levels go up, e.g. 가격이 오르다 (the price rises).
오르다 describes upward movement of two kinds. For people it means to climb or go up, as in 산에 오르다, climbing a mountain, or going up stairs. For things measured on a scale it means to rise: 가격이 오르다 says a price goes up, and 기온이 오르다 says the temperature rises.
For climbing, the place can take 에 or 을/를, so 산에 오르다 and 산을 오르다 are both fine. For rising things, the subject takes 이/가, as in 물가가 오르다. You see the second use often in the news, and the first in hiking talk.
Which Set Phrases Use 오르다?
- 산에 오르다: To climb a mountain; also 산을 오르다.
- 가격이 오르다: A price goes up. The news word 물가 (prices in general) works the same way.
- 기온이 오르다: The temperature rises.
How Do You Pronounce 오르다?
오르다 is read as spelled. In 르 forms the ㄹ doubles, and the past 올랐어요 is [올라써요]. The formal 오릅니다 sounds like [오름니다], and the future 오를 거예요 is [오를꺼예요].
How Do You Use 오르다 in a Sentence?
주말에 산에 올라요.
I climb a mountain on the weekend.
주말에 (on the weekend) sets the time, and 산에 is the mountain marked with 에. The polite present 올라요 shows the 르 change at once.
올해 물가가 많이 올랐어요.
Prices have gone up a lot this year.
올해 (this year) frames the period, and 물가가 is the rising thing. 많이 올랐어요 describes a big rise that has already happened.
기온이 오르면 아이스크림이 잘 팔려요.
When the temperature rises, ice cream sells well.
기온이 오르면 is a condition: when the temperature rises. The result, 아이스크림이 잘 팔려요, says that ice cream sells well.
How Does Oreuda Conjugation Work?
오르다 is a 르 irregular verb. Before 아 or 어 the 르 loses its ㅡ, and an extra ㄹ joins the syllable before it: 오르 + 아요 becomes 올라요. The past is 올랐어요. Before 으 and ㅂ endings it is regular: 오르면, 오릅니다.
오르다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 올라요 | ||
| Polite past | 올랐어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 오를 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 오르겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 오릅니다 | ||
| Formal past | 올랐습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 오를 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 올라 | ||
| Casual past | 올랐어 | ||
| Casual future | 오를 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 오르고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 오르세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 올라서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 오르면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 오르는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 오른 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 오를 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 올라요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 오르지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 올랐어요 | [올라써요] |
| Polite future | 오를 거예요 | [오를꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 오르겠어요 | [오르게써요] |
| Formal present | 오릅니다 | [오름니다] |
| Formal past | 올랐습니다 | [올랃씀니다] |
| Formal future | 오를 것입니다 | [오를꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 올랐어 | [올라써] |
| Casual future | 오를 거야 | [오를꺼야] |
| Long negative | 오르지 않아요 | [오르지 아나요] |
Common Mistake with 오르다
Wrong: ✗ 오르어요 / 오라요
Correct: ✓ 올라요
Why: A 르 irregular verb cannot take the ending straight onto 오르. The 르 splits into ㄹ + 라, giving 올라요. 오라요 drops the extra ㄹ, and 오르어요 skips the 르 change altogether (the stem vowel ㅗ also calls for 아, not 어); both are wrong.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 오르다?
| Word | How to tell it from 오르다 |
|---|---|
| 올라가다 | 올라가다 means to go up, moving away from the speaker, and is more everyday; 오르다 sounds a little more formal for climbing and is the usual word for prices rising. |
| 올리다 | 올리다 is to raise something (transitive); 오르다 is for something that rises by itself. |
Noticing a Price Change at a Café
Two coworkers look at a café menu. They compare today’s price with the one they remember.
Jisu
커피 가격이 올랐어요?
Keopi gagyeogi ollasseoyo?
Has the price of coffee gone up?
Minho
네, 요즘 가격이 자주 올라요.
Ne, yojeum gagyeogi jaju ollayo.
Yes, prices go up often these days.
Jisu
더 오르면 집에서 마실 거예요.
Deo oreumyeon jibeseo masil geoyeyo.
If it goes up more, I’ll drink it at home.
올랐어요 asks about a completed rise, 올라요 describes a recurring change, and 오르면 introduces a possible future condition. These are the coworkers’ observations about their café, rather than a claim about prices everywhere.
What Can Rise with 오르다?
열이 오르다 means a fever rises, while 기온이 오르다 concerns the air temperature. The upward movement is a change on a scale. Neither phrase means that someone physically climbs. Listen for the noun before 이/가 to identify what is increasing.
성적이 오르다 describes grades or results improving. Here “up” has a positive meaning, while a rising price may be unwelcome. 오르다 itself names the increase; the subject and situation tell you whether people welcome it. The verb does not carry one fixed emotional judgment.
For a physical journey, 정상에 오르다 means to reach or climb to a summit. 정상 is the top of a mountain, and 에 marks it as the destination. A hiking account can use 오르다 quite naturally; the slightly more formal tone does not make it restricted to literature.
Reading Prices and Weather Reports
A weather forecast may use 기온이 오르다 to describe warming air. 기온 refers to the temperature of the air, while 열 in a conversation about illness refers to a fever. Knowing the subject is more useful than translating every occurrence of 오르다 as “climb”.
In a price discussion, 가격 is the price of an item and 물가 concerns prices more broadly. A café price change can use 가격; a report discussing the cost of many everyday goods may use 물가. Both can be subjects of 오르다, so the verb alone does not tell you how broad the change is.
How Do You Describe the Size of a Rise?
In a price sentence, 천 원 올랐어요 means the price went up by one thousand won. 오천 원으로 올랐어요 means it rose to five thousand won. The amount of change and the final amount answer different questions; 으로 helps identify the endpoint in the second expression.
오르다 and 올리다 also divide the event differently. 가격이 오르다 focuses on the price rising. 가격을 올리다 focuses on someone raising the price. The markers 가 and 을 help reveal whether the sentence describes the changing price or an action affecting it.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 가격 | price | Usually identifies the price of a particular item. |
| 물가 | prices / cost of living | Useful for a broader discussion of everyday costs. |
| 기온 | air temperature | The subject of a rise in a weather forecast. |
| 정상 | summit | A destination for the climbing sense. |
For the physical sense, the mountains and hiking lesson teaches the surrounding landscape words.
Mini Drill: Rise, Rose or If It Rises
- Give the polite past of 오르다.
- Give the conditional form.
- Give its formal present.
- Put its present modifier before 가격.
Show drill answers
- 올랐어요.
- 오르면. The 르 stays before 면.
- 오릅니다.
- 오르는 가격, “a price that is rising”.
Quick Self-Test
- Which verb describes someone raising a price: 오르다 or 올리다?
- Does 천 원 올랐어요 give the increase or the final price?
- Which noun concerns air temperature: 기온 or 가격?
Show answers
- 올리다, with the price as its object.
- The increase: one thousand won.
- 기온.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Polite Present of 오르다?
올라요. The ㅡ of 르 drops and an extra ㄹ appears.
Can I Say 산을 오르다?
Yes. For climbing, 에 and 을/를 both work: 산에 오르다 and 산을 오르다.
How Is 오르다 Different from 올리다?
올리다 is to raise something (transitive). 오르다 is for something that rises by itself.
Is 오르다 or 올라가다 More Natural for Going Up?
올라가다 is the more everyday word. 오르다 sounds a bit literary for climbing, and it is the usual word for prices rising.
Which Words Are Related to 오르다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read the 르 irregular lesson next, because 다르다 and 부르다 follow the same pattern. Then compare 오르다 with 올라가다 and 올리다, and with 내려가다 for the opposite direction. For the rule behind these forms, read 르 irregular verbs, then try another stem in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.